Gloucester quintet put pen to paper on new contracts

Gloucester Rugby are delighted to announce that Darren Dawidiuk, Shaun Knight, Charlie Sharples, James Simpson-Daniel and Elliott Stooke have all signed new contracts with the club.

It's great news to kick off the New Year, and a welcome boost ahead of Saturday's visit to Kingsholm by Premiership leaders Saracens.

Dawidiuk is in his fifth season with Gloucester having signed from the Cornish Pirates. Since his arrival, he has been a regular in the first team squad and made 80 first team appearances.

The Truro born hooker brings an abrasive presence to the Gloucester front row and always impresses with his work in the set piece.

Shaun Knight, Gloucester born and bred, is another success story for the Gloucester Rugby Academy. He possesses a fine Gloucester Rugby pedigree with his father having represented the club during his playing career.

A former England U20 cap, he has amassed considerable first team experience over the past few seasons, and earned selection for the England Saxons.

Charlie Sharples is one of the club's biggest recent success stories, having come through the Academy system. The pacey winger, capped four times by England, boasts a superb strike rate with 47 tries from 108 competitive starts.

A constant threat with ball in hand, a buzz goes around Kingsholm every time the 25 year old gets attacking ball to work with.

James Simpson-Daniel needs no introduction. Destined to go down as a Gloucester legend, he has made well over 250 competitive appearances over 14 seasons.

A one club man, Gloucester supporters will be pleased to see him extend his stay at Kingsholm whilst also wondering why he only has ten caps for England.

Finally, 20 year Elliott Stooke has enjoyed an amazing few months. He was part of the England U20 squad that won the Junior World Championship for the first back in June.

Upon his return to Gloucester, he has enjoyed a tremendous season to date, making 15 competitive first team appearances and scoring a try against Northampton Saints on his first Premiership start.

Director of Rugby Nigel Davies confirmed that the five players agreeing new deals is very positive news for the club, and that recruitment for 2013-14 is coming along nicely.

"I'm delighted that all four of them have committed their futures to Gloucester Rugby. Charlie, Darren, James and Shaun have been a big part of the club's success in recent years and Elliott has a huge future in front of him.

"It's been a busy couple of months for us on top of the re-signings announced before Christmas and the arrivals next season of John Afoa and Richard Hibbard.

"The players can see where the club is heading, and are excited to be a part of that going forward. Their commitment speaks volumes.

"And, once again, it's a testimony to the hard work and commitment of everyone at the club. We're able to invest significantly in our team thanks to the backing of our board, the continued financial success of Gloucester Rugby and the significant investment made by our partners, sponsors and supporters."

After a good start, and dominating for long periods at the Ricoh, skipper Tom Savage spoke after the Wasps defeat to GRTV about the small things that Gloucester have to work on as well as focussing on some of the positives.

Gloucester Rugby will take on Wasps on Sunday in their first ever visit in the Aviva Premiership to the Ricoh Arena. Speaking to the local media today, Director of Rugby David Humphreys previewed the game as well as giving an update on the injured Henry Trinder.

Following the 48-10 Aviva Premiership win over London Welsh on Saturday, Dan Murphy praised his team mates for battling right up to the very last minute in difficult conditions and maintaining the momentum that the team have built in 2015.

Henry Purdy scored two memorable tries against London Welsh at Kingsholm on Saturday, and attributed the first one to hard work on the training ground before describing how much he's enjoying playing his rugby alongside friends like Callum Braley.

Premiership Rugby today announces a new partnership with Singha Beer, which confirms the premium Thai lager as the new title sponsor of the Premiership Rugby 7s Series and an official partner of Premiership Rugby.